Page 9 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt 5-6-16

Thunderbolt NEWS
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PEOPLE Once an individual receives urgent
FIRST care, they must notify their primary care
manager about that care within 24 hours
Editor’s Note: The “People First” section is or the first business day after the urgent
care visit. Authorization requirements
compiled from information from the Air Force have not changed for follow-up care,
specialty care or inpatient care.
Personnel Center, TRICARE, 56th Force Sup-
Those who are not sure of the type of
port Squadron, Airman and Family Readiness care they need, or who require care out-
side of standard business hours, should
Flight, Veterans Affairs, the civilian personnel call the Nurse Advice Line.
of ce and armed forces news services. For the http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/
Article/744413/new-urgent-care-pilot-program-
complete story, go to the web address listed at for-prime-beneficiaries.aspx
the end of the story. Mindfulness over matter
Urgent care pilot program At 10 a.m. on any given Wednesday, one
for Prime beneficiaries could walk into the 305th Operations Sup-
port Squadron’s leadership meeting and see
To increase access to care, the Defense a strange sight.
Department is launching an Urgent
Care Pilot Program for TRICARE Prime Airmen sit around the conference room
beneficiaries. This program allows Prime table and in chairs along the walls, vari-
enrollees two visits to a network or ously clothed in a sea of green ight suits
TRICARE-authorized provider without and Airman battle uniforms. Each has their
a referral or prior authorization. eyes closed, boot heels planted on the oor,
palms at against their thighs.
The Urgent Care Pilot Program, sched-
uled to begin May 23, is for: Hush reigns. Only the sound of each per-
son’s gentle, deep breathing can be heard.
• Active-duty service members (includ-
ing National Guard or Reserve members A moment passes, a gong sounds. Eyes
activated — called or ordered to active- utter open and Lt. Col. Janelle Macaulay,
duty service — for more than 30 consecu- the 305th OSS commander, begins the
tive days) in TRICARE Prime Remote. meeting. Her voice is gentle, soothing and
does nothing to disturb the calm from a
• Non-ADSMs in TRICARE Prime, moment before.
TRICARE Prime Remote or TRICARE She calls it the “mindful minute,” and it
Young Adult Prime. is an initiative that has been implemented
throughout the squadron during her ten-
• TRICARE Overseas Program benefi- ure there. During her year in command,
ciaries traveling in the U.S. (not limited members have incorporated the practice
to two visits). into their personal and profession lives; it
has been instituted in ights, commander’s
Active-duty service members enrolled calls, meetings and physical training ses-
in TRICARE Prime are not eligible for sions.
this program as their care is managed “It’s kind of like the oxygen mask anal-
by their service. This pilot also excludes ogy in an aircraft,” Macaulay said. “We are
Uniformed Services Family Health Plan always asked to secure our own oxygen
enrollees. TRICARE Overseas Program mask before securing others. I’m trying to
enrollees can receive an unlimited num- teach the members of my unit to take care
ber of urgent care visits, but only when of themselves. Mindfulness is one way of
they are traveling stateside and seeking doing that.”
care. With a master’s degree in exercise
physiology and a doctorate in strategic
There are no point of service deduct- health and human performance, Macaulay
ibles or cost shares for these two urgent
care visits, but network copayments still
apply.
4.25” AD SPACE
passionately believes in the importance of
what she calls a “leadership and human
performance culture.”
http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/ stampede has finally cleared the hall-
Article/742810/mindfulness-over-matter.aspx
Up to 250 more U.S.
forces to deploy to Syria
Up to 250 additional U.S. personnel are
being deployed to Syria to support local
forces on the ground and build on successes
of U.S. forces already deployed there in the
ght against the Islamic State of Iraq and
the Levant, the Pentagon’s press secretary
said April 25.
The additional personnel include special
operations forces and medical and logistics
personnel, Peter Cook told reporters at the
Pentagon. The forces are to build on the
gains of 50 previously deployed special
operators in Syria, he said.
During a speech in Germany on the same
day, President Barack Obama announced
the deployment of the additional forces. He
said the expertise of the special operations
forces already on the ground in Syria has
been critical as local forces drive ISIL out
of key areas.
The 50 special operators have improved
the picture of the battlefield and made
important connections with local, capable
forces, Cook said, and they have enhanced
the military’s targeting efforts in Syria.
The extra personnel will be establish-
ing connections with capable forces on
the ground, working on getting a better
picture of the battlespace, and improving
the intelligence and targeting assessment,
Cook said.
“They will help our partners on the
ground capitalize on their progress and
increase the pressure on ISIL at this critical
time,” Cook said, adding Defense Secretary
Ash Carter believes this deployment will
make a “tangible” difference in the cam-
paign to defeat ISIL.
The intent is not to have the forces on
the front lines or engaged in direct combat,
Cook said.
http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/
Article/742787/pentagon-spokesman-up-to-
250-more-us-forces-to-deploy-to-syria.aspx
May 2016 9
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Leading new generation
of Air Force medics
It’s a little after 7:30 a.m. and the
ways. There’s a moment of silence, the
first since arriving to work three hours
prior. The five-story building is nearly
desolate now, but a multitude of paper-
work and tasks remain to be done before
the 800-plus military students return
from class in the afternoon.
Such is the life of a military training
leader at the 59th Training Group, the
Air Force component of the Defense
Department’s Medical Education and
Training Campus. The tri-service campus
offers more than 50 medical programs,
and graduates about 21,000 enlisted
students annually.
MTLs provide administrative care
and Air Force instruction to the second
largest group of technical training stu-
dents in the Air Education and Training
Command — the first group is security
forces. Nearly all Air Force enlisted med-
ics come through the unit. Some stay only
a month, while others may be assigned
here up to a year.
The group houses three squadrons with
up to 1,200 Airmen from 16 different Air
Force career specialties. Only 24 MTLs
help run the unit, and they are respon-
sible for the more than 5,500 Airmen who
navigate the hallways every year.
“Most of us never had to supervise a
large number of Airmen before, so coming
here is a new challenge,” said Staff Sgt.
Britni Hill, a MTL with the 59th TRG.
Hill, who was a security forces spe-
cialist before taking on the special duty
assignment as an MTL, said this unique
training setting is very different from her
previous experience. The tri-service en-
vironment, Hill said, makes it important
to instill military bearing, and customs
and courtesies to the Airmen.
“Oftentimes, it’s necessary to explain
why things differ between the services
instead of just barking orders,” she said.
http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/
Article/743832/leading-the-next-generation-of-af-
medics.aspx